Modern combustion engines may include one or more cylinders as part of the engine. The cylinder head and an associated piston may define a combustion chamber therebetween. Fuel for combustion is directly injected into the combustion chamber by, for example, a fuel injector which is associated with the cylinder, the fuel injector having at least one orifice disposed such that it can directly inject fuel into the combustion chamber.
Different mixtures and/or equivalence ratios of the fuel/air mixture may produce different results during combustion. A manner in which the injected fuel mixes and/or interacts with air and other environmental elements of the combustion chamber may impact the combustion process and associated emissions. Further, if the fuel and air mixing is inadequate, then suboptimal or abnormally large amounts of soot may form within the combustion chamber.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0298529 discloses ducted combustion within a combustion chamber of an engine. The patent publication discloses a conical duct structure defining a plurality of fixed position ducts that may form passageways corresponding to orifices of the fuel injector. The fuel jets may be channeled through the ducts into the combustion chamber.